


Show yourself!

by aishiterumo



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: (?), (yes ATEEZ Wooyoung), Ages Are Changed, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Barista Chan, Fluff, I'm Bad At Tagging, Interior Designer Hyunjin, It isn't a poly Jisung isn't dating all of them, Light Angst, Lyricist Felix, M/M, University Student Seungmin, Vocal Teacher Wooyoung, dance teacher Minho, florist jisung, high school student jeongin, tattoo artist changbin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:21:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24081226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aishiterumo/pseuds/aishiterumo
Summary: In a world where you lose your ability to see colours at the age of 18, only regaining it when someone truly loves you, Jisung who hasn't had friends in years, is a bit troubled when he wakes up seeing black and white only.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han & Everyone, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Felix
Comments: 4
Kudos: 136





	Show yourself!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is actually a one-shot version of a [twitter alternate universe](https://twitter.com/softflowermin/status/1165028659863969792) I am currently writing. It doesn't exactly follow the au's story, so you can read it as two different works.
> 
> I'm sorry if there's any typos, I wrote this between two exams and in a lack-of-sleep state
> 
> A/N: I edited this work to change an obvious character and to correct some typos :))

Soulmates is a pretty neat system. From birth, you get assigned your significant other, whether it’d be romantically or not, it’s still up to you in the end. But knowing that you 100% have someone made specifically for you… It’s something that has made Jisung fantasize all of his life.

Sadly, for him, his world doesn’t work that way. His is way crueller, he thinks. When he was younger, his mom would tell him stories about the _semi-soulmate_ system. The word _soulmate_ made him dream, think it was still perfect, that it was a beautiful word, a beautiful system. But, growing up and seeing the real world, he realized that calling it _semi-soulmate_ was just a way to make reality prettier than what it was. Jisung lives in a hypocritical system, a mean world pointing out unloved people and making depression one of the highest illness in the world, way above physical diseases like cancer. What is this post-apocalyptic-looking world? What is the semi-soulmate system?

Being born seeing colours, living childhood like any happy person, reaching your eighteenth birthday and, during that eighteenth year of life, losing your ability to see colours. Starting from the eighteenth birthday, an unloved person cannot see colours. Why is it a semi-soulmate system? Because you _know_ when someone loves you, making them your _soulmate_ in some kind of way. Loving someone means giving them the ability to see colours, and when you fall out of love, they lose it once again. Then what has depression to do with all that? Well, most teenagers wait five to ten years—if not even more—until they start to be loved. Couples who started dating before their eighteenth birthday find out none of them were truly in love. Children grow up being afraid of their eighteenth birthday. _It should be beautiful, but it is not._

It’s easy to love, but it’s even easier to unlove.

Jisung thinks it’s unfair. It’s unfair that, on September 1st, he wakes up and can’t see colours anymore. His mom always told him it happened _during your eighteenth year of existence,_ but she never told him it could happen before his birthday. Yet, there he was, lying on his bed, looking at his ceiling.

Jisung is eighteen this year, he lives alone in a small apartment in Seoul. Emancipated from his parents since the age of sixteen, at first his parents gave him some kind of allowance so he could pay his rent and eat properly, but not even a year had passed that they stopped and asked him to get a job. Fortunately for him, he managed to land a job in a small flower shop not too far from his apartment. The owners were two elderly, very kind and not there often. Jisung honestly worked there alone since day one and customers often mistook _him_ for the owner.

He had always loved flowers, having a weirdly huge knowledge in flower language and botanic-related things. Working there was his small happiness, so much that he forgot about that _system_ he lived in. So, waking up only seeing black and white, it made him rethink his entire life since he lived alone.

He never really tried to get any friend— _oh, he actually did, now that he thought about it_. When he moved in, the first few months he befriended his neighbour, _Wooyoung_. Living in the apartment opposite his, they crossed path a few times, and the older boy— _was he one or two years older?_ —helped him a lot, getting used to being alone and fighting loneliness. However, once he started working, Jisung easily got overwhelmed and stopped talking to him. The customers he had in his shop made him _socialize_ enough, he thought. But now that he couldn’t tell if his shirt was blue or red, he was thinking that maybe he should have talked more to people. _How am I supposed to sell flowers if I can’t differentiate a yellow tulip from a red one?_

Scared to lose his job, scared to never see colours again, he selfishly thought that maybe he should just make the next person talking to him fall in love with him. _Will that be hard? Is it hard to love someone?_ How would Jisung know, when he has never loved before, never was he loved, as far as he knows. _Is it even possible to love him_ , he suddenly wonders?

Jisung wasn’t completely friendless, though. _Was he actually friend with those people?_ Acquaintances, probably. He could still consider his neighbour one, as he sometimes dropped by his shop to buy flowers, he didn’t seem to hate him. And there was this guy with cute freckles, _Felix_ , who came one day to his shop, saying that the flowers helped him get inspired. “ _Inspired for what?_ ” Jisung had asked. The freckled boy had tell him he was a lyricist—“ _trying to get famous!_ ”—and Jisung somehow confessed his past passion for music. They ended up writing lyrics together a few times, but it never went to anything more than _professional help_. Could he consider Felix an acquaintance? A co-worker? A friend? He didn’t know, but maybe he could call him his friend. And, finally, on top of it all, was his _most regular_ customer. A puppy-like boy, _Seungmin_ , who had come to the shop on his first day. Since then, the boy had always stopped by, staying a few hours to keep company to the florist, sometimes buying flowers or other botanic-related things like a vase or seeds, and then leaving—to go where? That, Jisung didn’t know. He was coming every day. From Monday to Saturday. Once, Seungmin had asked him if he wasn’t overworking, if he didn’t need rest, if he felt _enslaved_ because of the hours he had to work; Jisung had always answered the same, he loved his job too much to count the hours.

Nonetheless, on that day, walking to the shop while seeing dark grey trees and white leaves, he felt his heart sink. _Can I keep being happy that way?_ He felt the gloominess of this system take over him. Never, since he left home, has he wanted to call his mom as much as he wanted to right now.

Despite his lack of friends, Jisung knew a lot of people. _His_ flower shop wasn’t _that_ popular, giving him plenty of free times while at work, plenty of time to observe people in his neighbourhood. He either knew people because he had interacted with them at least once, because they bought flowers sometimes or simply because he heard of them.

That is exactly how he got to know _Chan, Hyunjin, Changbin_ and _Minho_. Chan owns the coffee shop opposite the flower shop, he sees him every day, from Monday to Sunday, working hard. He talked to him a few times, purely for business.

Hyunjin is the interior designer who redecorated the entire flower shop not even a year ago. He hasn’t talked to him that much; they _worked_ together for at least a month to plan the redecoration work. Since then, he may have seen him once or twice.

He never really talked to Changbin, and barely know who he is. He only heard of him. He apparently owns a tattoo shop a few blocks away, and some of Jisung’s customers always said things like “ _Wow, this flower is so pretty. Do you think Changbin could tattoo one that pretty on me?_ ” which piqued his curiosity, asking people who _Changbin_ was and earning nothing but a rant about how he was _the most amazing tattoo artist in this whole city_. Jisung laughed at that, nodding and going on with his day. He never saw that Changbin guy but saw his tattoo shop one day.

As for Minho, he was one of his regular-not-regular customers. Minho is a dance teacher, and every once in a while, he comes to Jisung’s shop, asking for the same kind of bouquet. They talked from time to time, when Minho wasn’t in a hurry.

He didn’t know much about them, except the basic maybe, that is to say their name, job and age. Chan was the oldest of them all, still Jisung couldn’t remember his exact age— _was he twenty-two or twenty-three?_ Minho and Changbin were the same age, three years older than Jisung, so both twenty-one. Hyunjin was twenty, two years older. He also knew that Seungmin was only a year older, and Felix was the same age as him—“ _born a day after you, that’s fate!_ ” the freckled boy had said.

Jisung thought that his day at work would be boring, probably gloomy or maybe even depressing. However, when he reached the shop, unlocked the door, turned all the lights on and started to organise the flowers, he wasn’t expecting to hear a knock on the door.

A bit startled, he turned around to see Chan, standing like an action figurine, eyes wide open and mouth slightly opened.

 _“Yes?”_ Jisung softly said

 _“Mh… Oh, yeah. Excuse me but I—I work just there_ ” Chan started while pointing at his shop behind him. “ _And I—You see, I don’t have any electricity right now, so I wanted to know if it’s just me or if you—if you too?_ ” He mumbled at the end

 _“I have the lights on, that’s just you,”_ the florist answered, a bit too harshly.

_“Oh…”_

An awkward silence took place, Chan then bowing apologetically before exiting the flower shop and going back to his own shop, scratching the back of his neck, mumbling a bit too loudly “ _how am I gonna work today_ ” and other worries about his fresh food.

Jisung sighed, feeling bad for answering too coldly. He looked around his shop, the empty alley that could be used, somehow. He looked back to the coffee shop and left his flowers to run towards it, knocking on the door that had just closed.

 _“Mh?”_ Chan hummed, opening the door. “ _The shop is cl_ —” he stopped mid-sentence when he saw who was in front of him

 _“We can share my shop, if you want,”_ Jisung suggested.

_“We can—What?”_

_“I have some empty space, and you need to sell your food, right? I know it’s hard to earn money and stuff when you have to close, even for one day. And I feel a bit sorry for you. I can, you know, like—I can help you move some of your stuff to my shop and. We can—Like we can separate the shop in two, it’s pretty big. If you want, of course! I’m just… suggesting_ ,” Jisung ended with no assurance.

He had been rambling a bit too much, trying to justify his suggestion without sounding rude, feeling then very awkward and stupid for even thinking about it when Chan only furrowed his brows. But then, he smiled brightly and Jisung felt a weight being lifted off of his shoulders. The barista agreed and they spent half an hour transforming the flower shop into a coffee shop—for half of it of course. During that time, Jisung suddenly thought of the owners. _Was he even allowed to do that?_

Chan had posted on his social media about the change of address—hopefully for today only—and once they finally opened the shops, Jisung saw what it was like to have a _popular_ shop.

Chan’s shop was always full, and it was not this slight change of place that made his customer leave, he actually got too many for the space he had available. Jisung, on the other side of the shop, still had less than ten customers at a time. His shop didn’t get any more popular, and it made him somehow sad.

That was until he saw Felix pass through the door, hope filling his heart thinking about his _friend_ keeping him company. But his heart sank when he saw the freckled boy stopped in his walk by Chan, greeting him with a bright smile. However, the lyricist walked to the _flower shop_ side of the place.

Jisung immediately sensed that something was off with Felix. His smile didn’t reach his eyes, his eyes looked tired, something felt wrong. Still, he didn’t ask. Felix stopped once he was a few centimetres away from the florist and asked, in a whisper, what was going on and why Chan was here. Jisung chuckled, explaining the barista’s electricity situation, the other boy nodding before walking towards the chamomiles. _It was today’s flowers_. Since he started working here, Jisung had made a Twitter account for the flower shop, thinking it’d give it some visibility. To make it more attractive, he posted every day the _flower of the day_ , whether it’d be the one he was gonna put on sale that day or simply the one he wanted to share with random strangers, he made it a daily thing and people seemed to love it. However, it didn’t give him that much customer, just virtual followers.

Felix then walked around the alleys, looking at the hydrangeas, roses, marigolds and then the tulips. He stayed in front of them, observing them in complete silence, Jisung staying behind him.

 _“Jisung?”_ Felix started in a low voice

_“Yeah?”_

_“Is this tulip purple or yellow?”_

Jisung gulped, answering that he _doesn’t know but thinks it’s yellow_. Felix snapped his head to look at the florist, both exchanging that same apologetic look. _He sees black and white too_ , they both thought at the same time. Felix explained that he woke up seeing his blue walls a grey colour, and that it made him so sad he couldn’t even think about one word to write for his lyrics. Jisung put his hand on his shoulder, patting it lightly. “ _You can stay here as long as you want, Felix_ ,” the boy said, knowing that Felix either came to his shop to work with him on some lyrics or to look at flowers to get inspiration.

An hour later, Felix picked two yellow—or purple, who knows—tulips, paid for it and left the shop, waving both at the florist and the barista with a more genuine smile than when he entered.

Jisung quickly grew bored again, it was 9:45am and his part of the shop was empty. The shop was filled with laughter and coffee being brewed noises, all coming from the coffee shop. His flowers were silent, his customers were inexistent. He took a book out of his counter’s shelf and sat on the stool behind it, reading in silence to occupy his mind, instead of letting it sink in that black and whiteness he now lived in.

He didn’t get to read his book peacefully, Chan’s shop getting full to the point where the door is barely visible. People are loud, packed, a huge line from the barista’s counter to the door. The florist sighs, envious for customers. 9:30 am, the doorbell rang once again, and a loud voice filled the air. Jisung didn’t even have the time to turn around to see who the customer was that they were already facing Chan and talking loudly with him. The florist really didn’t mean to spy on them, but they were both talking loud enough to hear each other over the customer’s and machine’s noises, and Jisung could hear them as well. “ _Do you want the usual: coffee and chocolate cake? Changbin can you hear me?_ ” he heard Chan say. Wait… Changbin? Jisung was now even more curious about the boy. He had heard his customers talk so much about that Changbin guy, that now thinking he actually had his foot inside his shop… It felt surreal. And he was friend with Chan? Felt like a fever dream.

But then, his curiosity died down when he only managed to catch a glimpse of the boy as he left the shop. Jisung got bored once again.

That is until, around 10am, he hears the doorbell ring and footsteps coming his way. He looked up and his eyes grew big. _Am I seeing a ghost?_ He suddenly thought when he saw Minho’s face, a bright smile on it. The dancer hadn’t come for at least two months, which was a bit unusual as he used to come at least twice a month. And there he was, all smiley, greeting Jisung with his warm voice just like he hadn’t disappeared for months. The older boy waves with big gestures, shouting a bit to be heard over the customers’ loudness, “ _Congrats for all those customers, I’ve never seen the shop this full!_ ” Jisung then looks at the coffee shop’s customer impinging on his side of the shop, he sighs once again and just smiles back at Minho, not having the guts to confess they weren’t _his_ customers.

The dancer then walks towards the flowers, and while pointing at them he asks for a _bouquet of orange tulips and pink roses_. Jisung thanks him internally for pointing at the flowers, as he wouldn’t have been able to differentiate the colours—especially for the roses. Well, maybe he could have as it was still written in front of it, but it would look unprofessional if _the florist_ was _the one_ reading the _little cardboard_ in front of the flowers, right?

Minho pays for the bouquet and exits the shop, not knowing when he will come again. Jisung looks at him push through the crowd, wondering who he is giving all these bouquets to. _He can see colours, so he has a lover, right? Lucky them, for getting such pretty bouquets_.

The rest of the morning is calm for Jisung—who is still painfully envious of the barista. Noon, he gets into the backroom of his shop, eating in silence. He stays there the duration of his lunch break, not wanting to hear anymore the barista’s customers. He regrets being nice. Today wasn’t the day to be nice. The only thing he wanted was to not be alone to drown in his gloominess, but he didn’t want to get a headache. _If having a popular shop equals having headaches every day, I think I don’t want it_ , he suddenly thoughts as he came back to the shop.

3pm. He was about to go the backroom once again when he heard the doorbell ring. He didn’t pay any attention to it until he heard the customer’s voice, recognizing it oh too well, making him smile way too big. “ _Hello Seungmin_ ,” the florist greeted even before he turned around to look at him. The puppy-like boy walked towards the chamomiles and asked for a bouquet, which surprised Jisung a bit as he wasn’t a regular _buyer_. Seungmin stayed a moment, an hour, maybe more. He sat on a stool, Jisung sitting on the other stool next to it. “ _I’m really impressed by Chan hyung’s shop. I didn’t think it’d work that well as it’s not his shop_ ,” Seungmin said, looking at the barista work. Jisung nodded, thinking that he was, in the end, a bit proud and happy to help his _neighbours_ in some way.

The rest of the day went by quicker than Jisung had thought, Chan’s customers started to leave little by little, the shop found silence once again and Jisung finally relaxed on his stool. He could see Chan counting his money from the corner of his eye, until the doorbell rang yet again, and a tall pink-haired boy entered the shop and made his way towards Chan, who smiled brightly and asked him if he wanted _the usual_. Jisung didn’t want to spy on Chan and his customers once again, as he had already done the same with Changbin, but then the tall pink-haired boy walked towards the flower shop side of the place, a cup of tea in hand. He sat on the small bench Jisung had put next to the hydrangeas, sipping on his hot tea while looking at the flowers. The florist looked at him, wondering how old he could be. _He seemed way younger than Chan, is he my age or younger?_

He walked towards the boy, greeting him with a smile—he was in his shop after all.

 _“Hi, I’m Jisung. I work here,”_ he said while showing the flowers

 _“Oh! You’re the one who saved Chan hyung’s day!”_ The younger excitedly said

Jisung felt his cheeks heat up, nodding at the statement. The younger boy explained that it also saved his, as he _needs at least a cup of tea per day to survive his days at school_. That is only after rambling about school that he finally gave him his name. _Jeongin_.

_“Your shop is really pretty. I love it a lot. Actually, I should probably buy a bouquet for my mom, while I’m here.”_

Happiness was evident on Jisung’s face at these words. He excitedly made a huge bouquet for the boy’s mom, thinking about his own mom. Jeongin looked at it with sparkly eyes, paying for it and leaving once he finished his cup of tea, thanking both of the workers.

Usually, Chan opened his shop from 7am to 9pm. However, Jisung opened his from 8am to 7pm. As it was the florist’s shop, they worked on his working hours. So, around 7pm, they were both counting their money and cleaning their working spaces. Chan thanked him deeply, going back and forth to put his stuff back to his own shop. Once he was done, Jisung was left alone, again. But not for long.

A knock on the door got heard. Jisung put down the flowers he had in hand, walking towards the door without really looking, “ _I’m sorry we’re closed,_ ” he started but a familiar voice answered back, “ _I know, you asked me to come after closing hours_.”

A ton of apology later, Jisung sat next to Hyunjin on the bench near the hydrangeas. He forgot he had an appointment with the designer. He had asked him a few weeks prior if he could redecorate his apartment, but now he felt like it was a bad idea. _I can’t see colours, what’s the point?_ He had been so taken aback by this whole day that he forgot to cancel his appointment, and there he was explaining the situation to an almost stranger. Hyunjin had his brows furrowed at the mention of _black and whiteness_ but didn’t say a thing. He breathed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose before saying, “ _Let me at least walk you home, so we can talk freely, and you’ll tell me if you really wanna drop the project, ok?_ ”

Hesitating at first, Jisung finally accepted. He got up from the bench to clean up the shop in a hurry and then left with Hyunjin.

They walked side by side, talking all the way towards Jisung’s apartment complex. Almost immediately, Hyunjin confessed that he, himself, couldn’t see colours but working on projects was his passion and became his motivation. He didn’t go too deeply into the details, and Jisung didn’t dare asking, but he told him how happy it made him to choose from all of the options he had available, that making an interior pretty was his motivation to go through the day. He showed him, on his phone, pictures of some apartment he redecorated in the past months and, even without seeing the colours, everyone could tell the interiors were prettily decorated.

They finally reached the florist’s building. It was a tall apartment complex building, a glass front door in the middle, pretty simple. They stopped in front of the door. The florist looked at the taller boy and sighed, “ _I can’t drop the project. Let’s do this together, ok?_ ” Hyunjin beamed with happiness. They talked a bit more about the formalities and then Hyunjin left.

Jisung turned towards the front door. He decided to look at his social medias while going to his apartment. He entered the elevator, focused deeply on his phone as he saw some customers’ pictures of their bouquet. Too focused on his phone’s screen, he didn’t see the person in front of him in the hall, so he collided onto them and a loud noise resonated on the walls. Quickly, he put his phone back into his pocket and saw the face of the person he had collided onto. “ _Wooyoung hyung! I’m so sorry!_ ”

They both kneeled to look at the boxes on the floor. Wooyoung was carrying them, dropping them when Jisung collided onto him. The older boy sighed as he saw a broken vase in one of the boxes. The florist saw it too, and apologised once again, feeling his cheeks heat up with embarrassment. “ _Jisung, really do not be sorry. It was a gift, it’s fine, you don’t need to repay me stop._ ”

Putting the boxes back into their original forms, Jisung apologised again and they both went into their respective apartments

Eating some leftovers while watching the TV, Jisung’s mind couldn’t stop drifting away to his day. It really was a weird and hectic one. Never had he gotten to see all of those boys on the same day, it somehow felt weird.

Lying in bed at night, he started to wonder if one of those boys could be the one giving him his colours back. And so, he dreamt of them all night.

When Jisung woke up, he felt a bit embarrassed of the dream he had. Feeling like a teenager having their first dream on a crush, he took a cold shower and went to work while humming a song. He got into the shop and let himself be engulfed by the silence. He closed his eyes, humming the flowers’ scent and calmness of the empty shop. It was so different from the day before; he didn’t even know if it was the same shop—which in a way actually wasn’t.

He started working like any other day when he saw Seungmin enter his shop. He didn’t look like himself, he looked gloomy. Jisung then walked towards him, asking him what was wrong. They ended up sitting on the floor next to some flowers, talking for hours without realising it. At some point, Jisung had to work and Seungmin kept on looking at him with a fond smile.

It was already noon when Seungmin got up from the floor, asking the florist if he wanted to go eat lunch outside with him. Not really thinking much, he accepted. However, once outside the shop he felt anxiety kick in. The owners trusted him with the shop, so he always ate in the backroom in case something happened. It was his first time—in years—to eat lunch outside of the backroom. So, when he was sitting opposite Seungmin at a small restaurant’s table, he felt anxiety invade his entire body. _What if someone is breaking in right now? What if they damage the flowers? What if they steal some money?_ Seungmin may have sensed it because once they both had finished their main dishes; he didn’t ask _do you want some dessert_ but _do you wanna go back to the shop_. He didn’t even try to hide his anxiety and nodded vigorously.

They both paid for their food and came back to the shop. Jisung looked around as soon as he stepped inside the shop, holding his breath until he was sure everything was at its place and intact. Only then, he exhaled loudly, but not loud enough to cover the soft “ _cute_ ” that had escaped Seungmin’s mouth. He didn’t say anything about it.

Seungmin stayed the entire day at the shop, learning some of Jisung’s knowledge as he helped him with works. He started giving advice to customers, Jisung correcting him whenever needed, he even tried making a bouquet all by himself. It somehow felt like it wasn’t his first time, but like it still was. It felt familiar and weird to him.

Before leaving him, Seungmin shyly asked Jisung for his phone number. Despite spending every day with him, they never exchanged phone numbers. “ _Just so you can tell me you got home safe_ ,” the boy clarified. The florist laughed and gave him his phone number, letting him then go home.

At the end of the day, Jisung couldn’t help himself but look at the coffee shop opposite his as he closed the flower shop, wondering if Chan will properly thank him or not. He caught a glimpse of the boy, working hard with a full shop—as usual.

Jisung got home, texting Seungmin that he was safely home, eating premade food once again in front of the TV and then heading to bed, his mind drifting away to the boys once again.

The next day, Jisung woke up with no difficulty. He switched his alarm off, rubbing his eyes with his hands and got dressed. For once, he wasn’t in a hurry and took time to eat a proper breakfast, then exiting his apartment, not expecting to see Wooyoung exit his at the same time. “ _Oh god!_ ”

He never left his apartment that early, so it was kind of a shock for Jisung to see him. They ended up talking in front of their doors. The vocal teacher explained to him that one of his students requested his vocal lesson to be earlier than usual, but he left far away so he needed to leave that early. The younger regretted asking more about his work when his neighbour told him he was actually going to the family who had gifted him the _broken vase_. He felt even more sorry, suggesting repaying it, not expecting a “ _if you really want to repay me, take me out to dinner_ ” from the older boy.

Seeing the time on his watch, Jisung quickly excused himself as he was getting late for work. The older boy asked to exchange numbers—“ _to plan our dinner_ ” he said—which Jisung agreed to, and then they both left for their respective workplace.

Working wasn’t supposed to be boring, but not seeing colours and not having customers wasn’t the combination for an entertaining day. It was until Felix walked through the door. A big smile appeared on Jisung’s face.

The boy dramatically slammed his hands on the counter and asked _for help_. Laughing together, they both knew what it meant. Felix wanted someone to read his lyrics and give him advice. From time to time, it happened that Felix asked Jisung to do it—it was one of those days.

Not even thinking twice, the florist agreed, and they made their way to the backroom, sitting on the sofa that was against the wall, talking and _working_ together. Still, Jisung kept an eye on the shop, going back and forth whenever there was a customer.

They had finished rewriting the lyrics not even two hours after, but they still stay there and talked like they were best friends for years. Jisung felt _at home_ , there was no embarrassment, no awkwardness. It just felt right.

Felix stayed until closure time. They both cleaned up the shop, then exiting it. Felix waited until the florist had locked the door and then he dramatically turned towards him, making the florist laugh. Thanks to the dim light of the evening, Jisung couldn’t see Felix’s red cheeks as he took the florist’s hands in his, asking him to eat dinner with him.

Jisung agreed, walking happily next to the boys, still holding his hands. Felix however took him to the same restaurant Jisung had gone to with Seungmin the day before—yet, he kept silent, afraid it’d upset Felix in some kind of way. Dinner then felt way better and lighter than lunch the day before.

Before going separate ways, they exchanged numbers. Once Jisung got home, he laughed thinking that someone with no friends ended up getting three new phone numbers in twenty-four hours. Wasn’t it ironical in some kind of ways?

Sitting on his couch, he kept looking at his phone contacts, his thumb hovering over Felix’s name. _Should I ask him on a date?_ Thinking back to his day, Jisung really felt at ease with Felix, somehow wondering if he couldn’t end up falling in love with the boy if he spent more time with him. Yet, right when he was about to send him a text, he received one. It was from Wooyoung. “ ** _Hi Jisung, I know it’s late, but I wanted to know if Sunday is ok for you, for our dinner?_** ” He had completely forgotten about that dinner. He quickly answered that he was free on Sunday before sending a text to Felix, typing one then erasing it, typing another but changing it last minute. Five failed texts later, he sent the one he thought was the perfect one; “ ** _Felix, it’s Jisung. I just wanted to know if you wanted to go watch a movie with me someday?_** ” Felix’s answer didn’t take long to arrive, and Jisung’s heart beamed with a strange but comfortable warmth, “ ** _I’d love that, a lot actually._** ”

Jisung never slept better than that night—even if he said the exact same thing the day before, it actually got even better. He kept on dreaming about his upcoming date with Felix— _was it even considered a date if none of them labelled it?_

He got up and walked into the bathroom, taking a long shower. His phone started to ring, making him jump and almost fall naked in his shower. He turned the water off, drying his hand and face before answering his phone, clearly not prepared to hear Hyunjin’s voice at the other end of the line. “ _Hey… it’s Hyunjin. You gave me your number when we you asked me to work on that project…_ ” the boy started.

They then started talking business, way too early in the morning. Suddenly, Hyunjin asked him if he was interrupting him and Jisung bluntly said he was _simply showering_ , making Hyunjin—form what it sounded like—choke on his own spit.

A few minutes later, once the conversation was coming to an end and Jisung was about to hang up, Hyunjin cleared his throat before saying “ _Can I ask you… if you can see colours again?_ ” Jisung suddenly got offended, wondering if Hyunjin thought of him as such a simple boy to _get a lover in a night_ , and got all riled up while dryly answering that _no, he cannot_. Hyunjin seemed visibly shaken as he explained he simply wanted to know how much colours he could use for the furniture and decoration. Jisung was embarrassed, but it was too late because Hyunjin had already hung up.

Going back to his shower, Jisung took all the time of the world to get ready and finally go to work. He felt like whatever could happen today wouldn’t make him forget his phone call. He may have tempted some kind of gods because in the middle of the day he saw the tall pink-haired boy enter his shop, a bright smile on his face that made Jisung forget all of his worries for a few seconds. “ _Hi… I came here on Monday, buying a bouquet for my mom. I actually… wanted to buy her one more?_ ” Upon hearing his request, the florist nodded while returning his smile, preparing a soft pink and white bouquet for the boy’s mom.

Paying for the bouquet, the boy stayed a few minutes to talk to the florist. When asked about his huge backpack, Jeongin explained that he was still a high school student. Only seventeen, still he clearly knew what his dream job was: “ _I want to be a kindergarten teacher!_ ” Jisung laughed happily, however Jeongin suddenly remembered about a test he needed to study for and left in a hurry. The florist looked at him leave—or more like, enter Chan’s coffee shop.

The rest of his day was pretty calm, and so was the next day. No one came to see him, or request anything. He felt relaxed but anxious at the same time, alone in his own head and black and white world.

Saturday finally arrived; the florist was strangely anxious. _I’m simply seeing Hyunjin for professional reasons, that is all_. He kept on reminding him himself that nothing was going to happen, _because he didn’t live inside of a movie or a work of fiction_.

Sometime during the morning, he got a text from Hyunjin asking him where and when they should meet. After discussing it for a bit, they agreed to meet at 8pm at Jisung’s apartment—“ ** _as it’s supposed to be my apartment’s decoration_** ” the florist had argued, but now he regrets it. He _was_ afraid of staying alone in his apartment with Hyunjin. The boy seemed nice yet intimidating.

The rest of his day passed by quickly as Seungmin came to help him, the atmosphere always felt light whenever Seungmin was around and somehow it made him curious about the boy. When he thought about it, he barely knew Seungmin.

He didn’t get the time to dwell on that thought that 7pm came. He closed the shop and walked home. He directly went to take a shower and waited for the designer to come.

Right on time, the older boy arrived and—not like his mind made him believe—they only talked about Jisung’s apartment’s interior. Once everything was planned, Hyunjin left. Somehow, he was disappointed. Not enough to keep him awake at night.

Sunday, Jisung woke up with a start remembering he had his _dinner_ with Wooyoung. When he looked at his phone, first he saw that it was 11am, then that he got a dozen of texts. Some of it were useless ads, two were from Felix and three from Wooyoung. If he was logical, he should’ve opened Wooyoung’s first, but his thumb clicked on Felix’s conversation. “ ** _Jisung… We didn’t really talk more about it; so, I hope it’s still ok but, are you free tomorrow’s night? There’s this movie I really wanna see. With you. Text me, ok?_** ” He almost immediately started to type an answer, agreeing almost blindly to the boy’s words. Then, he looked at Wooyoung’s messages. He was asking him where and at what time they should meet.

It was around 7pm when Jisung knocked on Wooyoung’s door, nervously playing with his fingers. Greeting each other in what seemed like shyness, they made their way towards the building’s parking lot. It was Jisung’s first time in his car.

Wooyoung was a good talker, and a good driver. It actually felt like they had never stopped being friends, even though it’s been almost two years. He was a very warm person, and made people feel at ease pretty easily. He was the one deciding where they were going to eat, and when they left their neighbourhood it made Jisung a bit anxious. He actually knew only two places pretty well: his neighbourhood and his parents’. So, he felt a bit lost. Still, the older boy seemed to know where he was going as he parked in front of a cosy-looking restaurant.

Dinner was nice. They talked like two friends reuniting after being apart from each other for a long time—they actually were, despite leaving opposite each other. At the end of their meal, Jisung wanted to pay for them both—“ _for the broken vase_ ”—but he simply laughed and paid for his meal.

They drove back to their apartment building, waving goodbye at each other once they were both in front of their doors.

Monday was way more stressful than what it should have been. _My date with Felix is today_. His mind couldn’t focus on anything else, and the florist put the blame on his dream from the night before. As if planned, he kept on dreaming about the freckled boy, and what it would be like to date him. Thinking about his dream, he started to feel butterflies in his stomach.

A cold shower and a rapid breakfast later, Jisung was sitting on the stool behind the flower shop’s counter, already working.

It was around 11am when he saw Chan enter his shop, another boy behind him. It took some effort for his brain to recognized that it was actually Changbin. “ _Hi, how can I help you?_ ” Jisung asked.

 _“We actually have the same request so… We both want to put flowers in our shops_ ,” Chan explained with a smile plastered on his face

Jisung didn’t know Chan that well, but he had an almost perfect view on his coffee shop to instantly know which type of flowers he would put in it. However, Changbin’s shop? He never ever put foot in it, his mind was blank.

A quick look around the flower shop, the florist giggled when he saw Changbin in awe in front of some succulents. He was actually walking towards the older boy but stopped in his track, observing him for a few. He was a little bit smaller than him, but pretty muscular. His face was a bit round and his cheeks full and puffy. His eyes looked sharp but full of softness at the same time. Looking at him a bit longer, he felt like hugging the boy.

“ _Do you want to put some succulents in your shop?_ ” the florist’s voice startled the tattoo artist, making him jump and yelp with fright—he looked the complete opposite from his scary appearance. Once his fright had left, he nodded and choose a few plants that made him _feel all kind of soft inside_ , as he had said.

The impromptu request of the two boys occupied Jisung’s mind enough that he forgot he had a date with Felix until he got home and received a text from the freckled boy, asking if he _they should meet beforehand or directly at the theatre_. Jisung’s heart skipped a beat, his cheeks heated up. “ ** _Let’s meet a bit before, if that’s ok?_** ”

And that’s how the two almost-twins-but-not-twins (as they had called each other one day) ended up sitting on a bench in front of the theatre, movie tickets in hand, waiting for it to be time. They were sitting really close to each other, knees touching, hands brushing against each other from time to time. From a third person’s perspective, they looked like two teenagers discovering love for the first time. Which only felt weird as none of them was feeling _love_ for the other.

During the movie, they shared an armrest and popcorns. Felix was drowning in the movie, his eyes all sparkly and shiny, holding billions of stars. Jisung, on the other hand, wasn’t paying much attention to the movie, finding himself drowning in Felix’s side profile. At some point he had turned to look at him and ask for the popcorn, but no sound came out of his throat as he realized _how beautiful Felix was_. His stomach turned, and turned, and twisted harder and he felt like throwing up at least five times during the movie.

Walking home, Felix talked about how perfect that movie was, but seeing that Jisung wasn’t responsive, he changed the subject and asked the florist to talk about _what he likes_. It made Jisung rant about flowers. About how pretty they were, how their scent was the most perfect one in the world, how only seeing them made his entire day feel lighter and brighter. He started to ramble so much, looking at the sky or the sidewalk as he enumerated his favourite flowers, missing the way Felix was looking at him—the same way Jisung looked at Felix during the movie.

Arrived in front of Jisung’s apartment, they both wanted to stay longer with the other. Boldly, Jisung asked if he wanted to _come upstairs_ , to which the other nodded. Strangely, the elevator ride to Jisung’s floor and apartment felt awkward, none of them talking or looking at the other. The awkwardness flew away once they sat on the boy’s couch, a glass of coke in hand.

Felix ended up with his head on the other boy’s lap in the middle of a conversation over their favourite superhero. “ _You know what, Jisung?_ ” Felix started. Jisung hummed to encourage him to continue his train of thoughts. “ _We’ve known each other for almost a year, and it’s crazy we never talked like that_ ,” he said with his eyes closed, arms moving dramatically as he spoke. They both laughed, agreeing on that statement.

Jisung never really had friends with whom he could have a sleepover, so it was all relatively new to him. He hadn’t thought everything through, making it awkward for himself when he realises, he only has a queen-sized bed, meaning he was going to sleep right next to Felix. The freckled boy didn’t seem to mind as he went under the blanket and cuddled up to Jisung’s side, falling asleep almost on the spot.

The florist didn’t find sleep that night. His heart kept on beating like crazy, his whole body feeling hot as he looked at the boy cuddling up onto his side. He caressed his hair softly, wondering when he started to see him as something else than a worker.

Was the next morning awkward? A bit, because Felix had drooled on Jisung’s elbow during the night and he was feeling very shy and embarrassed about it. The florist didn’t mind, it just made him laugh how the lyricist had panicked and insisted on cleaning the boy’s skin himself.

They both left Jisung’s apartment when he went to work—way too early for the lyricist as he had complained—and then Felix went back to his own place, probably falling back asleep.

Jisung’s day at the flower shop went almost the same way every day, Seungmin would come in the morning to help him with work, Felix would come during lunch break to eat with him in the backroom—sometimes writing lyrics too—and then the afternoon was always pretty tranquil.

Jisung spent a lot more time on his phone than usual, Felix texting him almost all day, sometimes even for useless things like “ ** _That leaf looks like you!_** ” when it actually did not—or Jisung just couldn’t see it.

It had been a bit more than a month since Felix and Jisung had went on a date. The two boys clearly had felt something, because since that day it was like a bond had been made between them. Or maybe it was just Jisung? He kept on thinking about him, wanting to talk to him, see him… Even dreamt of kissing him.

This time, it was Felix who suggested the date. They planned it almost on the spot. The lyricist had, as usual, come for lunch and suddenly asked if Jisung wanted to _go on a date_ with him. They ended up using the hour they had before lunch break was over, going to a mall nearby and trying on clothes the other had picked for them. It started in all seriousness but ended up with each other trying to make the most ridiculous outfit ever— _Jisung won when he made Felix wear a ‘fake chest’ t-shirt with a pair of swimming shorts with some leopard prints on it_.

It was actually the most fun Jisung had had in years, and it made his heart swell in happiness, comfortable warmth spreading in his stomach as he looked at the boy smiling and laughing genuinely.

The rest of the day felt boring, without the freckled boy. When it came to an end, Jisung went home and didn’t waste any time before going to bed, wanting to fall asleep fast to live this date once again.

When he woke up, Jisung was face with his light green wall. He rubbed his face and turned the other side. Stop. Wait. What? He turned around again, rubbing his eyes harder while staring at his wall. Still light green. Light green. Green. Colours. _Oh my god!_

He quickly took his phone from his bedside table, hurryingly typing a text to Felix, hitting _send_ at the same time he received a similar looking message from the lyricist: “ ** _I can see colours!! Is that you???_** ” Tapping on his screen in a hurry, he sent a message that looked like the one he received, once again: “ ** _So it is you!!!!_** ”

As he was about to type again, his phone screen change to show that Felix was calling him. He answered and didn’t even had time to put the phone against his ear that he heard Felix’s yelling with what seemed like happiness.

 _“You like me! Love me? Like I do? Please, tell me I’m not dreaming!”_ Felix said in a hurry

Jisung could only laugh, sitting on his bed as he held the phone tighter in his hand.

_“I do, Felix. Thank you for loving me too.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I know i'm very bad at endings so I'm sorry about that.  
> I really treasure this story so I hope I gave it credits and it wasn't too boring. I still invite you to read the original au, to find an alternate story with lots of bad choices (@ my twt readers, I'm sorry y'all were dumb) and anxiousness.
> 
> find more work on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/softflowermin) :]  
> you can also ask question related to my works on my [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/softflowermin)!


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